Brighstone CE Primary School

Issue 31, 17th May, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:54:00 +0000

News from Mrs Pugh Iâ€™d like to start this week by congratulating Year 6, Mrs Denness and all the LSA staff who acted as readers during the SATs. These are always gruelling times and the children and staff coped with the pressure admirably. I know that they will do well and can hold their heads up high with the knowledge that they did their very best. They can now look forward to their transition to High School and the remaining weeks of their time at Brighstone. Year 2 are having fun this week and next week doing their exciting quizzes. Reception had an exciting time this week at Briddlesford Farm and were commended by their politeness and enthusiasm. I will look forward to reading about their adventure and seeing all the photos that were taken. Mr McGouran and his Y4/3 football team tackled Shalfleet on Wednesday and was very pleased with all his teamâ€™s performance (See Sports News). We have many more Intra-school competitions between countries this term and Inter-School tournaments against other schools, so keep looking out for our talented sports stars representing our school and give them all the support you can. With that in mind, many of you may have noticed that our Sports shed is in need of replacement. If there are any parents who have some shed shelving we could have so that we can tidy and sort out the space we do have while we await a new shed to be placed we would be very grateful. Please see Suzanne in the office or speak to me. Next week is Bike to School week and the children will be allowed to cycle at playtimes. Please note that the children should dismount when they enter the school grounds and place their bike sensibly in the bike racks. If these are full as last time then your child may place the bikes in the wooded area up against the fence and wood pile. Such was the popularity of the week that we had to use all three play spaces and I know that it will be as popular again but may I remind you that they may not cycle on the field or playground before and after school as these spaces are being used by FAB and After School Clubs. All children are expected to gather on the playground, not the field, in the morning. Mrs Norman has kindly reminded me that as we approach the last week of this half term we require all dinner money, Clubs money and Wales trip money for Year 6 to be paid by Wednesday 22nd May at the latest! I cannot believe how quickly the weeks have flown by and all the amazing experiences your children have had, but this is just the beginning and we have a lot planned for next half term including a whole school project based on our coast. Look out next week for more details. Have a good weekend and I hope I see you at the Wolverton Festival with cakes in hand, or mouths for that matter! (Just for staff or all you Trekkies out there, Live Long and Prosper!)

Issue 30, 10th May, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:04:00 +0000

News from Mrs Pugh Well the sun shone for most of the week and it was wonderful to see so many rosy coloured faces on Tuesday morning after a long weekend. Now that the summer has finally arrived â€“ yes I am crossing my fingers at this point â€“ may I remind you of the procedures for sun cream and keeping children well hydrated. We would encourage children to have sun cream applied every morning, then bring in their cream, labelled, and hand it in to their class teacher. This can then be applied before breaks or any lesson time in the sun. We cannot apply sun cream to a child with someone elseâ€™s cream. Children may also need to bring in a water bottle and sun hat. The good weather has been a long time coming and it would be good to make the most of it while we can. This has been another busy, if short, week and our children have been learning in a variety of ways. It never ceases to amaze me at the ingenuity and creativity of our staff who think up amazing ways to engage and interest our children in their learning. In Y2 this week they have been studying axles and moving parts of a car whilst designing and building their own vehicles, whilst in year 4 the children have been studying super heroes, not only discussing the qualities of a hero but also creating their own model hero with their own comic strip. It has been wonderful to see the children enjoying our outstanding environment and FAB Club have been working hard in the garden getting it ready and finally beginning to plant vegetables and flowers. Whilst we encourage children to enjoy our school grounds we expect them to treat our environment and equipment with respect and care at all times. It has been disappointing to see some children climbing on our fort, standing on the poles and jumping down, after school has finished. I enjoy seeing children play for a short time after school with their friends while parents have a chance to catch up; however, I do expect the children to be well behaved and under control. Please remember the sports field and small field will be in constant use by clubs after school. As always it is the safety of all our children that is important. Next week the whole school, staff included, will plant a sunflower on the sports field along the back fence so that we can enjoy their beauty long into the next term. I have about 200 seeds but if any of you has some spare packets and would like to donate them we will plant them on your behalf. Mr McGouran has planned some challenging sporting events with the whole school and against our neighbouring schools. We are hoping to obtain a Silver Kite Mark for all our excellent sporting endeavours and welcome your support at these events.

Issue 29, 3rd May, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:59:00 +0000

News from Mrs Pugh Ahoy me hearties! It be Captain Pugh here aboard the HMS Brighstoneâ€¦sorry I began to slip into yesterdayâ€™s fantastic presentation of Treasure Island performed to the whole school by M&M Theatrical Productions. There were tears, laughter, screams and rolling around the floorâ€¦and that was just the staff! The children were totally absorbed by the story line, humour and heartache that only live theatre can bring. â€œLook Iâ€™m a crabâ€ will go down in the annals of Brighstone funny moments; you had to be there! My thanks go to all who contributed with their golden doubloons. (Â£1 coins for all you land lubbers!) We raised Â£60 but would still welcome more in order to cover the cost of an extremely reasonable price of Â£150. The week has whizzed by, with Ofsted in on Wednesday to visit our â€˜Outstandingâ€™ Teachers: Miss Cooke GTP and Newly Qualified Teacher Mrs Saunders, as part of the Sandown Teacher Training Partnership Inspection, then on Thursday Miss Capelin was visited by EYFS Moderators who praised her thorough understanding of her class and verified all her detailed and accurate assessments. My congratulations go to them and all our valued staff who have risen to every challenge and supported each other as only Brighstone can do. It has not only been the staff who have been working hard, as I go around the classes I am proud to see all your children learning new skills and practising their understanding with such a wide range of exciting experiences; be it Reception making creatures out of glittered dough and discussing life the world and universe over milk and fruit, Year 4 creating super-structures in Design Tech, Year 5 learning my favourite narrative poem of the Highwayman and Year 6 revising and preparing for their SATs. This week we also celebrated our family Eucharist, which is held every 1st Thursday of the month in St Maryâ€™s church. It is a very special time to spend with our Lord. All are welcome to join us in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity, while we celebrate the miracle of communion. Bike to school week was a huge success and it was a delight to see so many enjoying the sunshine and cycling to school in the morning. I would encourage you to continue cycling to school and the next Bike Week begins 20th May when children can use their cycles at break time. One final request; wake up and shake up has been a huge success, however I would like to encourage parents to motivate their children to join in by participating themselves, If your child sees you doing something they will feel less inhibited themselves and the expectation is for all to take part. Now you have all worked so hard this week I am giving you all a day off on Monday! Enjoy!

Issue 28, 26th April, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:33:00 +0000

News from Mrs Pugh

What a wonderful week we have had. The weather has been kind; even the mist and fog lifted to ensure we had fun playtimes on the field.

The children are enjoying the new play equipment at lunchtimes and enjoying a wide range of sports including volley ball, badminton and tennis, as well as the old favourites of football and netball. My thanks and praise goes out to our MSAs who make sure that all children are actively engaged and having a safe and productive lunchtime. Year 2 had a wonderful trip to InTech and were praised for their politeness, manners and their positive attitude to learning. Well done Y2 and thank you to all the staff who went to supervise. Year 5 are, as I write this, off to Marwell Zoo and will be having a interesting tour of all the animals and habitats of wildlife beyond our shores. Well done to all those parents and children who have joined in so enthusiastically to our Wake Up and Shake Up on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. It is a pleasure to see children so engaged, working together and enjoying stretching their muscles and grooving to the music. Thank you to Mary Snow who has been waking up that little bit earlier to prepare and run the sessions. I have many children comment on how fun it is and teachers are already recognising the effect this warm up and brain gym has had on your children’s performance in the morning. Last Friday’s disco was a huge success and it was a pleasure and a revelation to see all the children dressed up to boogie and enjoying the fun of games led by DJ Alan Stone. This weekend we are looking forward to the Family Fun Day on Saturday 1.00-4.00pm. Along with all the traditional events, face painting, skateboarding, flag making and crafts, our very own Mary Snow will be leading a dance workshop at 1.30pm with a performance at 2.15pm on the field (there may be pom-poms involved!!!). Please note tickets can be bought on the day.

Brighstone Buzz, Volume 13, Issue 28 - 19/04/2013

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:27:00 +0000

Welcome back - we hope you enjoyed the Easter holidays and are all feeling refreshed. All children have returned with smiling faces and are working very hard!

This is the last issue of the Buzz that will be sent home in paper format. From now on, unless we have recieved alternative instructions, the Buzz will be available to read online through this website, and also by email, if you have requested to recieve it that way.

As an eco school, we feel that this move to 'paperless newsletters' is an extremely important one and we are grateful for your undertsanding and cooperatrion with this decision.

Thank you for helping us to preserve our environment and help the planet!

Issue 26, 28th March, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:37:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON Today marks my last and 146th edition of the Buzz as your Headteacher. I really donâ€™t know where the last 4 years have gone! I have attached a letter to all members of the school community, which I trust will convey my strength of feeling for the school and hopes for the future. A parent this week asked me what I actually do each day, so it was suggested that I share a couple of my working days with you: MONDAY â€“ Arrive at school at 6:15am, unlock all doors, fire up the boilers, prepare the staff briefing and hall for worship, write childrenâ€™s and staff birthday cards, emails, correspondence, morning gate duty, lead worship, office tasks, more emails, return phone calls, meet with the school nurse, meet with the Chair of Governors, write two policies, more emails, write a letter to parents, prepare childrenâ€™s data for a meeting with staff, lunch duty, staff meeting, dash to another school to help them prepare for an Ofsted inspection, arrive home at 2am. TUESDAY - Arrive at school at 6:15am, unlock all doors, boilers not working-order oil, prepare the staff briefing, work in the school office, emails, DfE buildings inspection, answer queries on planning application, more emails, endeavour to source Â£150,000 by the end of the day, meeting with Cllr Pugh, meeting with Deputy Head, meeting with bursar, staff payroll, telephone parents, listen to children read and send postcards home, more emails, school budget, arrange service level agreements, governors meeting, arrive home at 10pm. I hope that gives you a small insight! My thanks as ever, at the end of a half-term, to all the staff for their amazing hard work and commitment and without whom, none of this would be possible. I wish you all a fantastic Easter break and Mrs Pugh all the best as she begins her new adventure as Acting Head. The Governing Body have appointed Mrs Kim Hall as your new Headteacher from September. Further details to follow in the summer term. Thank you all for joining me on the journey and best wishes for the road ahead. Miss Johnston

Issue 25, 22nd March, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:16:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON I simply could not make my main news about anything other than Oliver this week. What an amazing 2 days! Iâ€™m sure that those of you, who attended one of the three performances, could not cease to be amazed at the talent and dedication of the children and staff. My thanks and praise to them all! My thanks also to you as parents, for ensuring that the children were brought to and from The Apollo for the evening performances and for the super costumes. Other plaudits must go to: The Apollo volunteers, Southern Vectis, Kardan Travel, St Francis Primary School, Ian Johnston (photographer), Videographer, School Kitchen, Mrs Norman and Mrs Jones and many, many, more. My grateful thanks to the staff for giving up their time to ensure the children had a fantastic experience and in particular our directors, Mrs Sutton and Mrs Pugh, whose tireless energy on this project never ceased to amaze me! Youâ€™ll be pleased to know that the evening performances were filmed and are available to purchase on DVD. Please complete the slip overleaf and return it to school, with payment, by Wednesday next week. Due to our production, we have delayed sending out the spring term interim reports until Thursday next week. In other news, well done to Macbeth Class and especially Emily and Flossie, for raising Â£27.50 with the Climate Change Week Swap Shop. They have decided to split the donations equally between Kissypuppy and the YMCA Young Carers Project. Thank you to all those who took part. Also to Year 5, whose Red Nose Day organisational skills, helped us to raise Â£672.54 (and climbing!) for the charity. Finally, our second round of Headteacher interviews will take place on Monday and Tuesday next week. Therefore, I will not be in school and Mrs Pugh will be in charge in my absence. Next week will be our final week in school before the Easter break begins, with a reminder that the term ends on Maundy Thursday. Donâ€™t forget to send in your FAB booking forms for Easter, if youâ€™ve not done so already.

Issue 24, 15th March, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:14:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON When I was in school with the Oliver cast on a bright Saturday afternoon, we could not have imagined what was waiting around the corner for Monday and Tuesday! The snow took a lot of people by surprise and sadly the local roads and bus routes in our beautiful, rural location were unable to cope with it. The decision to close the school is never taken lightly and always on the basis of advice from the Isle of Wight Council, Highways and the school transport team. Depending upon the location of your house, you may have seen a little snow, or drifts of several feet! The closure of the main road to Shorwell, combined with the school buses being unable to provide a service, sadly meant that we had to close. My thanks to those staff who live in the village and were able to walk in on Tuesday afternoon, in order to clear the site ready for us to open safely on Wednesday. We have re-scheduled the missed Forest Schools session for the 16th April. Luckily, we managed to wave Year 4 off on their residential adventure just before the worst of the snow hit. They have had a fabulous time in London and I keep being told that â€˜Wickedâ€™ was â€˜wickedâ€™. Other activities included a visit to the Harry Potter Studios, a tour around London, trip on the London Eye and of course â€˜sleepingâ€™ on HMS Belfast. My thanks to the staff and governors who gave up their time to accompany the children. Unfortunately the snow also forced us to postpone our Year 5 trip to Marwell Zoo, which will now take place on the 25th April. On Sunday it was a delight to see 15 children from our school take the step of confirmation, with several also being baptised. The church was less than standing room only and we hope that all enjoyed their welcome to the church family. Today Year 5 have organised our Red Nose Day events as part of their topic on Africa â€“ we are looking forward to an interesting day and the Oliver performances next week! Miss Johnston ïŠ

Issue 22, 8th March, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:33:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON What an incredibly busy week! On Monday, 4 children sold cakes they had made over the weekend in aid of Comic Relief, ahead of Year 5â€™s organised events next Friday! Our focus has been on mathematics, with your kind donations of 1p and 2p coins for the â€˜Penny Mileâ€™, Mr McGouranâ€™s coffee and chat (thanks to those who came along), creating our own book of maths stories and poems, maths trails around the school, a problem solving carousel and the highlight today, the children versus staff country team quiz! The children at Forest Schools had some glorious weather for den building and outdoor cooking on Tuesday and on Wednesday evening we held an informal meeting for parents in Years 5 and 6 about transition to secondary school, with representatives from the schoolâ€™s present. We hope that parents who attended found the session informative. Thursday morning saw our monthly Eucharist worship in St Maryâ€™s and today Reception will have their Godly play session. Also on Thursday, Year 6 held their climate change â€˜swap shopâ€™, where an exchange of items from the toy box found a new home at no cost to the environment â€“ well done Year 6 for organising this. Today we say goodbye to Miss Millard, who has been completing a teaching placement in Year 2. We wish her well in her future career. Next week Miss Cooke will return from her second placement and will remain with us until the end of June. Our Oliver after school club are working incredibly hard and my thanks to the children, families and staff for allowing an additional rehearsal on Sunday afternoon last week and Saturday afternoon this week. Finally, my very best wishes to those 15 children from the school who have chosen to take the step of confirmation by Bishop Christopher Foster at St Maryâ€™s Church on Sunday.A truly special occasion for you & your families. Miss Johnston

Issue 22, 1st March, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:03:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON A very warm welcome back to everybody. I hope that you all enjoyed the half-term break and have returned refreshed and ready for the second half of the spring term. FAB had a super time with their â€˜wellie and weatherâ€™ week and myself, Mrs Pugh and the office staff were all incredibly busy re-locating the school office and staffrooms. This new arrangement will provide a much safer solution for staff, parents and children and we thank you for remembering to wait in the porch and asking at the hatch if you have an office query. Please do not come into the school building with your childâ€™s class in the morning. All queries to the office should be made at the front of the school through the hatch. On Tuesday our Forest Schools sessions began, with 12 intrepid children taking their first session on a very chilly morning! The Governing Body also met to determine the admissions applications for Reception places in September 2013 and the Local Authority will inform parents of potential offers in April. Today is the secondary school â€˜offer dayâ€™ for all Year 6 parents and children across the country. A reminder that we have an informal meeting for Year 5 and 6 parents next week regarding transition to secondary school. If you are not successful in achieving your first choice of school, please donâ€™t panic and pop along to the informal meeting to ask any questions you may have. Please do not bring your children with you. Year 3 enjoyed their trip to Amazon World and some of our super mathematicians participated in the Year 5 Ryde School Maths challenge yesterday. Also this week, classes have been busy completing their handwriting entries for the Spring Horticultural Show and tickets for Oliver go on sale TODAY. Please see the note on the next page and a copy of the costume reminder attachment, sent last half-term. A further letter will follow next week. Wishing you all a super weekend. Miss Johnston ïŠ

Issue 20, 15th February, 2013 Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:02:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON It has been a pleasure to see so many parents in school to participate in family learning this week â€“ itâ€™s always wonderful to watch parents learning alongside their children and Iâ€™ve heard that many have been challenged! My thanks to Miss Capelin for co-ordinating the events and to teachers for planning the activities. The children have been working incredibly hard with their assessments this week and Year 6 had a â€˜mockâ€™ SATS week, in order to prepare them for the national tests they will take in May. We also held our half-termly KS2 Golden Awards and I was delighted to hand out so many awards! On Wednesday we remembered the start of Lent with our traditional â€˜ashingâ€™ worship on the school playground. Thank you to those parents who came along and joined us in this important moment of reflection for the period now leading us to Easter. Our gifted and talented scientists also competed their extended challenge at Medina College on Wednesday and won! Their project was considered the most successful â€˜by a long marginâ€™. Well done and my thanks to Mr McGouran for supporting them. On Wednesday night we held our monthly BSA Meeting and our preparations for Oliver have continued. A reminder that tickets will be on sale from the school office from 1st March, on a first come, first served basis. Parents will need to choose seats at the time of purchasing tickets. â€“ a plan will be available. Today sees our football team play against Nine Acres and commence our school office move. A reminder that the office will be in its new home after the half-term break and we will be asking parents to wait in the porch area and use the hatch to communicate with the office staff. Thank you for your co-operation. I hope that you all have a super half-term week. Donâ€™t forget, if the weather is poor, there is always Mathletics or Bug Club to keep the children entertained and engaged in learning. Miss Johnston ïŠ STOP PRESS â€“ PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHMENTS FOR DETAILS OF EXCITING EVENTS ON THE HORIZON!

Issue 20, 8th February, 2013 Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:12:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON We now have just one week left until half-term! We would like to send our congratulations to Esme in Year 5, and her family, on the safe arrival of a new baby brother on Tuesday, weighing 9lb 14oz. Congratulations! On Monday we were delighted to welcome schools from across the island to our gifted and talented art workshop for children in Years 3 and 4. A super morning was had by all (including the staff who led it) and some fabulous â€˜seasonally inspiredâ€™ masks were produced. My thanks to Mrs Munt and Mrs Compton for organising this. On Tuesday we participated in CEOPâ€™s Safer Internet Day, which we hope will be of benefit to the children in staying safe online. Please see the next page of the Buzz to find out how you can support this at home. We also held our Head teacher interviews this week. Unfortunately the panel agreed that none of the candidates were suitable for Brighstone and therefore an appointment was not made. The Governing Body are re-advertising the post and aim to interview again at the end of March. As previously communicated, Mrs Pugh will undertake the role of acting head for the summer term and we will communicate further details about this in due course. On Wednesday our key stage 2 boys and girls played football against St Francis. Unfortunately they didnâ€™t win on this occasion, but all enjoyed a good game. Thursday morning saw our monthly Eucharist worship at St Maryâ€™s and Year 6 spent the morning at Medina College, using â€˜Garage Bandâ€™. A reminder that we will be moving our school office during February half-term. Mrs Norman and Mrs Price will be busy â€˜packingâ€™ next week. When the school office relocates, parents and visitors will not be permitted into the school building unless an appointment has been arranged. You will be asked to wait in the porch area. Children who arrive late will need to be signed in with the office, at the hatch in the porch. All payments and queries etc. will also be made through the hatch in the porch for staff safeguarding reasons.Further details next week. Miss Johnston ïŠ REQUEST â€“ Do you have any wool that you can spare? Please send it in to school with your child.

Issue 19, 1st February, 2013 Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:38:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON This weekâ€™s news begins on Saturday, when Mr McGouran and Mrs Pugh took a team of children to participate in the West Wight Football tournament. The children were superb ambassadors for the school and got all the way to the final! Sadly, they were just pipped by Shalfleet, but deserve a very big â€“ well done! On Monday Year 2 braved the elements for a day of treasure hunting and riddle solving, around the island. Iâ€™m pleased to say that they found the treasure and all returned safely. Year 6 have also had their fire safety session and Year R, Godly Play. Thank you to everyone who donated towards our latest Phil the Bag collection this week â€“ very much appreciated! We were also delighted to see so many parents at the Year 6 SATS Meeting on Wednesday. My thanks to Mrs Denness for organising this session, which we hope that parents found useful in understanding the preparation for and week itself, in May. Today Years 3 and 5 will complete their â€˜snow deferredâ€™ learning conversations and I will be taking 3 children from Years 5 and 6, to an ICT workshop at Carisbrooke Primary this afternoon. On Sunday, Mrs Pugh and I are delighted to be attending the licensing of Karen Schmidt at Chale Church and to welcoming Karen to our community. Next week is incredibly busy (I will be out of school on Tuesday and Friday) and it is now not long until half-term. Donâ€™t delay in booking your childâ€™s place for FAB Club for that week! Miss Johnston ïŠ No Ukulele, Craft, Football or Gym Club on Tuesday next week â€“ an additional week will be added at the end of the scheduled club sessions REQUEST â€“ Do you have any wool that you can spare? Please send it in to school with your child.

Issue 18 25th January 2013

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:08:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON I do hope that you all enjoyed your surprise â€˜snow dayâ€™ on Friday and that it did not cause too much disruption. Itâ€™s been a pleasure to hear the childrenâ€™s snow tales this week, as well as see photos of their snowy creations. Iâ€™d like to express my enormous thanks to the staff who came into school with me on Sunday to clear and grit the paths, playground and car park, so that we were able to open our site safely on Monday. THANK YOU! Iâ€™d also like to warmly welcome Amelia and her family to Spinderella Class and trust that they all settle into our community quickly. This week we have all enjoyed Farmhouse Breakfast Week, with every child enjoying a different breakfast each day. We have really seen a positive difference in those children who do not normally eat breakfast and are delighted that children have tried foods that may be new to them. We have had many visitors talking to the children about food, but I think that the children have most enjoyed their cookery session with Chartwells in the â€˜fun into foodâ€™ workshops. Many are now huge fans of quorn! In other news, Year 1 went on a walk around the village to look at the different types of homes, Year 2 had a visit from Blackgang Chine and Year 6 had a video conference with the MET Office â€“ Iâ€™m sure that it was just to find out if they might have any more snow days! Our after school clubs also began and there are some spaces in a few of the them, so please contact the school office if your child would like a place. Due to the snow last week, some Year 3 and 5 parents missed their learning conversation appointments. We have re-arranged these for the same times on the 1st February. Please contact the school office if you are in any doubt about your appointment day or time. Please can I remind parents not to park in our bus lay-by at the front of the school between 8:15am and 9am and 2:15pm and 3pm each day. There have been several occasions when our buses have not been able to park in the layby this week and this does cause a hazard to other road users and a safety issue to other parents and children. Thank you. Good luck to all those competing in the West Wight football tournament tomorrow! See you on Monday. Miss Johnston :)

Snow Edition - Issue 17 18th January 2013

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:26:00 +0000

WE DID HAVE TO CLOSE DUE TO SNOW!!! PUBLISHING THIS ONLINE: FRIDAY 18TH JANUARY 7:30AM The weather has certainly turned this week, and as I write this on a Thursday evening, with heavy snow predicted for Friday, I do hope that we will be in school on Friday for this newsletter to be distributed! I trust that you all received my letter yesterday regarding our school closure policy. This not only applies to inclement weather, but also for example, if we had a sustained power cut or were without water, so it is useful information to keep to hand. This week has seen the vast majority of our learning conversations taking place. Once again, it has been super to see so many of you in school with your children. You will have heard about your childâ€™s achievements over the last term and on what they now need to do, and how you can help to secure their end of year targets. Our fire safety programme has also continued, with Year 5 enjoying their workshop and 4 children from Years 5 and 6 accompanied Mr McGouran to Medina College to participate in a science workshop, for able, gifted and talented pupils. Our football team also played against Priory on Wednesday and after a close match, just lost on penalties; well done boys. Mrs McQueen also held a coffee and chat session on special education needs on Thursday, which I hope that parents found useful. Next week we look forward to Farmhouse Breakfast Week â€“ see next page. Have a super (and warm!) weekend and enjoy the snow if it makes an appearance. Miss Johnston

Issue 16, 11th January, 2013, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:42:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON A very warm welcome back to you all! I hope that you had a good Christmas break and are looking forward to 2013! I start with an apology for our lack of internet, email and telephone access yesterday. This was due to a centralised issue with BT that affected 19 schools on the island and as I type this on a Thursday evening, I hope will be resolved by today! This week, we have welcomed 3 new members of staff: Lea Kerley (Clerk to Governors), Kate Sheath (Behaviour Support Assistant) and Stephen Bellis (Caretaker). I hope that you will make them all feel welcome. FAB was open during the Christmas break and staff were in throughout, preparing for the new term ahead. As advised by the Chair of Governors in his letter to you before Christmas, the Headteacher position has now been advertised, with interviews due to be held in February. In other news this week, the Fire Service visited Year 3, residential meetings were held for parents and children in Years 4 and 6 and we had a highly successful RE day. On Thursday morning, we were delighted to welcome parents and the Bishop of Portsmouth, Christopher Foster, to our Family Eucharist worship. The Bishop was extremely impressed with the worship and we are now looking forward to receiving his formal feedback as to how we progress it even further. Please find attached our spring term calendar of events and a FAB booking form for February half-term. Finally, to save you a visit to the school office, frequently asked for documents are now on our school website and in our new porch area, including leave of absence request forms, administration of medicines forms, spare copies of the Buzz etc. Have a super weekend.

Buzz, Issue 15, 21st December, 2012

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 10:12:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON Here we are at the end of the autumn term! What a busy term and week it has been! On Friday the rain didnâ€™t dampen Year 4â€™s spirits, as they went Carol Singing in Newport and raised several hundred pounds towards their residential trip in March. The following day Year 4 sung again as part of a concert at Newport Minster with 3 other island schools and choristers from Portsmouth Cathedral. It was a truly inspirational evening enjoyed by all! On Monday, I had the great pleasure of watching the pre-school nativity, which is the best one Iâ€™ve seen yet! The children all did so well and Wendy and her staff are to be congratulated. Tuesday and Wednesday this week saw our Christmas production â€˜A special giftâ€™. This year KS1 took on the main roles, supported by classes from KS2 providing information about a traditional Victorian Christmas and the Christingle. Iâ€™d like to say a huge well done to all the children, as well as thanks to staff. There were some â€˜stand outâ€™ performances and we all enjoyed â€˜White Christmasâ€™ as the finale! Thank you for your kind donations, which have raised Â£288.15 for the Childrenâ€™s Society, who supported our Christingle. Today we say a very sad goodbye to our caretaker Brian, who is looking forward to taking things a little easier from the new year. Brian has given so much to the school in his time here and will be sadly missed by all. We wish him well in his future adventures and hope that he will continue to be a frequent visitor and friend to the school. THANK YOU BRIAN. Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas â€“ see you on the 7th January! Miss Johnston

Revised Buzz, 14th December, 2012

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:10:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON One more week to go! Last Friday an intrepid team of children from Years 5 and 6 accompanied Mrs Pugh to the indoor athletics festival in Ventnor. I am delighted to say that we came 2nd overall â€“ just behind St Francis â€“ a fantastic achievement! There were some outstanding performances in a variety of events but a big well done to all who participated. On Saturday we held our Christmas Fair and it was wonderful to see so many children, parents and members of the community in attendance. My enormous thanks must go to the staff and BSA members, who worked so hard to plan, prepare, help on the day (as well as assisting me in my clean-up operation at the end of the day!) and enabling us to make a profit of Â£920. This was a fitting conclusion to the Christmas Tree Festival and we are now working towards our Victorian Christmas. This began on Monday with our Victorian Day â€“ Mrs Havisham took Victorian worship and the children participated in many Victorian activities throughout the day. I was surprised that so many told me they would like to continue to be schooled in this way! Tuesday saw our Christmas Dinner with 150 people fed â€“ well done Heather, Helen and Lyn in the kitchen! On Wednesday Year 6 held their Great Exhibition to parents as a culmination to their topic work, receiving many positive comments. Wishing you all a busy and festive weekend. See you on Monday. Miss Johnston

Buzz, Issue 14th December, 2012

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:29:00 +0000

Buzz, Issue 13, 7th December, 2012

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:17:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON Just two school weeks to go! Time is now running away with us and Christmas preparations are well underway â€“ I just wish I could say the same for me personally! We are delighted that our new wellies arrived in school earlier this week and your child will be receiving their own pair next week. If you informed us that you would be providing your own boots for your child, please ensure that they are sent in on Monday, as we hope to begin using them before the end of term. We will not be taking the children onto the field when extremely wet/muddy, but it will provide us with the option of doing so in frosty conditions, or when the playground is too slippery or icy to use, for example. Children without wellies in school will not be permitted to access the field and the wellies that the school have purchased, will remain in school. In other news this week, Years 3 and 4 participated in an intra-school tag rugby festival on Monday, we held a whole school RE Day on Tuesday and the Head and Deputy boys and girls also led an worship introducing advent. On Wednesday Year 6 had an enjoyable day at Milestones Museum in Basingstoke and yesterday morning we held our monthly Family Eucharist worship in the church. The Christmas Tree Festival is now well underway and children from Year 4 helped to open it yesterday evening at The Methodist Church. Today we have auditions for our production of Oliver next term and we are looking forward to the Christmas Fair tomorrow! Do come along and join in the fun â€“ itâ€™s always very busy with a lot to look at, do and buy! Finally, Iâ€™d like to say a thank you to the staff. This is an incredibly busy time of year for them and they are all working so hard to make sure your children have lots of fun and memorable experiences. Iâ€™d like to pay tribute to them for the additional time and energies they always give, particularly in the next few weeks. It is very much appreciated.

Buzz, Issue 12, 30th November, 2012

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:36:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON It has been another amazing week of adventures at Brighstone. On Monday I was met with a class full of knights, princesses and much more, as Year 2 held a â€˜Castles Dayâ€™, to celebrate the end of their topic. They enjoyed a day that included falconry and archery and had a LOT of fun! My enormous thanks to Miss Brough for her hard work in organising such a wonderful day for the children. Year 4 have spent another session with the Portsmouth Cathedral Choristers preparing for their upcoming concerts and Year 1 planned and led a superb worship on their class value of forgiveness. We were also delighted to welcome several visitors this week, including the new Archdeacon, Peter Sutton (the first school he has visited on the Isle of Wight) and 4 other Headteachers from church schools on the mainland, who came to see our â€˜outstandingâ€™ practice. Today seeâ€™s Reception and Year 1â€™s Pirate Day and Year 5â€™s Egyptian Day â€“ what a historically diverse week! Iâ€™d also like to say thank you to everyone for the Phil the Bag donations. A large amount of textiles for recycling were collected on Wednesday and we look forward to receiving a cheque from them soon! On a personal note, I would like to say a huge thank you to the many, many, parents that I have spoken to this week, who have congratulated me on my new appointment and wished me well. Itâ€™s been lovely to hear your kind words about my work at the school and I would like to reiterate what a difficult decision it has been to leave such a wonderful place. The Governing Body met this week to initiate the process of finding my successor and will be advertising the post in the next few weeks. If you are planning to go to the Christmas Market tomorrow â€“ have a super time. Miss Johnston

Buzz, Issue 11, 23rd November, 2012

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 10:26:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON Iâ€™d like to start with a â€˜thanksâ€™ and â€˜well doneâ€™ to Miss Capelin, support staff, Rev. Helen, children and parents, for participating in the Advent Activity Day last Friday! A great time was had by all in both Shorwell and Brighstone and really started to get us in the festive mood! A big Brighstone welcome Ellyn (Y6) and Kate (Y4) who have joined us this week and I hope that they and their family have settled into our community well. In other news, Gruffalo Class had a visit from the school nurse to learn about the importance of washing their hands, Miss Brough and Mrs Denness have been meeting with teachers from St Francis to check the levels of childrenâ€™s writing and the auditions for â€˜Oliverâ€™ have begun! Our main focus this week has been linked to the national â€˜Anti-bullying Weekâ€™. This began on Monday when children from our school behaviour group led worship on the work that they have been undertaking in school to monitor and promote positive behaviour. The group have produced 2 age appropriate leaflets on anti-bullying for KS1 and KS2, which all children should have received a copy of. We were slightly disappointed that only 2 parents attended Mrs Pughâ€™s coffee and chat on Tuesday but the next opportunity will follow after the Christmas break. The Red Tie Theatre Group came in to work with all year groups and our older pupils have all received support on cyber-bullying and internet safety. We do hope that you took the opportunity to hear from PC Jeff Rogers about how you can protect your child at home online last night. We were also delighted to hear that Max (Y4) won the artwork category in the Isle of Wight Anti-Bullying Competition to promote anti bullying messages. Well done! A display of all the winning entries can be seen in the window of Choices (Old Connexions/County Press office opposite the Guildhall) in Newport High Street and Wightlink have agreed to show a presentation of the 100 short listed entries on their on-board TV during January 2013! We are now starting to reach our busiest time of year at the school, so please keep an eye on the Buzz and your reminder texts for the latest information and event details. Have a good weekend. Miss Johnston ïŠ

Issue 10, 15th November, 2012, Brighstone Buzz

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:45:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON It may only be a 4-day week for the children, but this hasnâ€™t meant any less learning and fun! Indeed, the week started on Saturday, when I attended the Diocesan Synod (council of the church) to speak on â€˜Church Schools of the Futureâ€™. The Synod were extremely interested in the work we have undertaken at Brighstone and there are certainly more exciting developments to come! On Sunday, I attended the Archdeaconâ€™s welcome service at The Minster with the Head Boy and Girl, who ably presented him with a hamper of island produce. We are delighted that the Archdeacon will be visiting our school before the end of this month. On Monday, choristers from Portsmouth Cathedral visited the school to work with Year 4 (N/B: Reminder to Year 4 parents that children will need to attend The Minster on Saturday 15th December 1-3pm AND 6-8pm) and on Tuesday, Year 4 led an â€˜outstandingâ€™ whole school worship on the theme of â€˜Hopeâ€™. Also on Tuesday, Year 1 visited HMS victory, where they had a fantastic (if exhausting!) day and were praised for their super behaviour by many members of the public. Meanwhile, back at school, Year 6 were having fun with science, supported by teachers from Medina College. Today Year 3 are visiting Brading Roman Villa, which Iâ€™m sure they will enjoy and will support their current historical learning. Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting our partner school, St Francis, on their new site. Their new building is just about ready to open and the school will â€˜move inâ€™ during the Christmas break. If you are in Ventnor, do stop by and have a look! A reminder that the school is closed to pupils tomorrow, as the teachers will be at St Francis updating their maths training. FAB is open and being held in its usual home and we also have a very exciting Advent Activity Day taking place in Shorwell Parish Hall TOMORROW (Friday) 9-11am and our school hall 1-3pm: please wait outside the hall doors for entry to this session. These sessions are now fully booked and we look forward to seeing you if you have previously booked your places. A reminder about the internet safety evening for parents next week (see the next page) â€“ PLEASE do try and attend. It will be an hour well spent. Iâ€™m sure that parents will also be pleased to hear that the external works to our main entrance SHOULD be completed tomorrow. Therefore we hope to be back to normal with our entrance on Monday. The office will not be moving home until February half-term, but we will be asking parents and visitors to wait in the new secure area, unless a visit to the office is urgently required. Furniture and information leaflets will start to appear in this area shortly! Have a super weekend and see you on Monday! Miss Johnston

Issue 09, 9th November, 2012, Brighstone Buzz

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:37:00 +0000

NEWS FROM MISS JOHNSTON The half-term break may already seem a distant memory but the children in FAB had a wonderful time â€˜exploring spaceâ€™ and the construction work on our new entrance began. This week we have welcomed Mrs Jones to our school office team and Years 4 and 5 had an excellent day in London. Year 4 visited the National Army Museum and Year 5 The British Museum. The children have been enthusiastically telling me about their day, which I know will live long in the memory. Yesterday we held our monthly Eucharist Service in St Maryâ€™s and at 11am today (weather permitting!) we will hold a special remembrance worship at the village war memorial, with the local British Legion. On Sunday, The Head Boy and Girl will be attending the new Archdeaconâ€™s Welcome Service at The Minster in Newport and presenting him with some gifts of island produce on behalf of all the children in Isle of Wight Church Primary Schools. Attached to this edition of the Buzz is our latest school values newsletter: â€˜Hopeâ€™, a calendar of events for the remainder of the autumn term and a booking form for FAB next Friday. A reminder that the school will be closed for staff training on Friday 16th, but FAB is open and we are also running our â€˜advent activity dayâ€™ in both Brighstone and Shorwell. In other news, congratulations to the Harrison-Smith family, who had a baby girl on 31st October called Laceigh Mae; Mr McGouran, who ran the Windsor Â½ marathon and raised Â£65 for the school; Kelly Snow who swam the Solent and raised Â£35 for the School and to those parents who donated shoeboxes for the Rotary Appeal! Morrisonâ€™s have now finished issuing their â€˜Letâ€™s Growâ€™ vouchers and we would be grateful to receive these in school by Wednesday (14th) next week, so that we can place our order before the expiry date at the end of the month. Tomorrow I have been asked to represent Church School Headteachers at a meeting of the Synod to be held at Portsmouth Cathedral on â€˜Church Schools of the futureâ€™ and I look forward to being able to share any relevant information with you regarding these exciting developments shortly. Wrap up warm this weekend! Miss Johnston

Issue 8 25th October 2012

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:49:00 +0000

We have arrived at half-term and what a half-term it has been! So much has happened in the last 7-8 weeks and this week has been no exception! On Monday our Year 5 and 6 girls took part in the cluster tag rugby tournament at Hunnyhill School. Of their 6 games that were played, the girls won 2, drew 2 and lost 2. A fine effort. The rugby action continued on Tuesday, when we held our first joint sports afternoon with St Francis Primary School. There was some excellent competition for boys and girls in Years 3,4,5 and 6 and my thanks to Mrs Pugh and Mr Milton from St Francis, for organising this. We hope to hold a further afternoon of sports activities with St Francis School, once they move to their new site in the Spring term. It has also been super to see so many parents in school this week as part of our termly family learning programme. I hope that you enjoyed your visits â€“ if you have one of our visitorâ€™s badges, please could you return it, as weâ€™ve lost 25 since September! Thank you. This week the children have also been undertaking assessments to monitor their progress and the results of these will come out to you via their termly report towards the end of November. Today we say good-bye to our Clerk to Governors, Jill Wareham, who has become a Secondary School Headteacherâ€™s PA, as well as to Miss Rowe and George (Y2), who will be leaving the island to start an exciting a new adventure! We wish them all well and look forward to welcoming our new administrative assistant, Mrs Jones, on 5th November. We hope that you will make her feel welcome. Have a super half term â€“ see you on the 5th! Miss Johnston